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The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change, has recently recognized the natural carbonation process as a way of carbon offsetting with mortar and concrete. Accordingly, this activity could be recognized as a carbon removal process for which certification should be granted. The aim of the certification of carbon removal is to promote the development of adequate and efficient new carbon removal processes. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to provide reliable results on carbon dioxide uptake by cement-based materials in Spain. Yearly, greenhouse gas emissions are reported to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) by each country, and the natural carbonation should be added up to the carbon accounting. Therefore, natural carbonation should be included in the IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, and such accounting information should be made available promptly to the national regulatory authorities. This paper provides the results of carbon dioxide uptake by Spanish cement-based materials from 1990 to 2020 by using an easy method of estimating the net carbon dioxide emissions (simplified method) considering the carbon dioxide released by the calcination during clinker production (process emissions). The outcome of this study reveals that there was 93,556,000 tons of carbon dioxide uptake by the mortar and concrete manufactured in Spain from 1990 to 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, science has hardened the discourse on the emergency of global warming, pointing out that the next decades will be decisive to maintaining the stability of the climate system and, thus, avoiding a cascade effect of events that increase the average temperature above safe limits. The scientific community warns that there are different tipping points that could produce a chain reaction in the global climate. One of them is related to the jet stream. However, despite the importance of this air current in atmospheric dynamics in the Northern Hemisphere and the changes it is experiencing in the context of global warming, the public is still not familiar with this kind of physical concept nor with other much simpler concepts. As concerns about the climate crisis rise, climate literacy remains stagnant. To advance the learning of the science of climate change, in general, and of concepts such as the jet stream, in particular, specific scientific communication formats are required that can successfully tackle the difficult task of explaining such complex problems to the general public. These formats should be included in the media, as the characteristics of the formats (daily section, scientific dissemination, historic perspective, teleconnections and specialization) make them well suited to taking on the challenge of explaining the complexity of climate science. In this article, we present a communication proposal existent in a newspaper published in Spain. We argue that this communication format represents a good model to disseminate climate science, educate readers and even to make physical concepts such as the jet stream accessible. We believe that this format conforms to and complies with the enunciation of Article 12 of the Paris Agreement, which calls on the signatory countries to promote education and training on climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Precipitation irregularity constitutes a constraint for natural systems and socio-economic activities, particularly in water-scarce environments. Standard variability statistics such as the standard deviation, variance, and coefficient of variation do not consider the chronological order of these values. In Climatology, however, the temporal order of meteorological events is a relevant factor that can affect natural and socio-economic systems. In order to evaluate the disparity between consecutive values in precipitation series, we applied the Consecutive Disparity Index (D) to the monthly grid with the highest spatial resolution (10×10 km) existing in Peninsular Spain for the period December 1915–November 2015. Monthly, seasonal, and annual D values show an increase from north to southwest, especially in July and August. The D values for the month-to-month correlative series and for monthly mean precipitation reveal a relatively similar pattern. In the latter case, however, the low values are recorded towards southern Spain, following some mountain ranges in the Centre-East of the territory. Monthly, seasonal, and annual precipitation values are also negatively correlated with the corresponding D values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The latest world atlas of desertification represents a turning point in the diagnosis of desertification. While it forgoes desertification mapping due to the intrinsic complexity of the phenomenon and the impossibility of measuring it using a single indicator, it introduces the convergence of evidence paradigm, which identifies socioeconomic and biophysical variables whose behaviour allows pointing out those areas prone to desertification. The Spanish National Action Program Against Desertification (PAND), back in 2008, already implemented a similar approach to identify five "desertification landscapes" within Spain using both socio-economic and climatic information. The PAND was not only pioneering but also, unfortunately, accurate. Desertification in Spain has continued to worsen and the first two decades of the 21st century have consolidated an agri-food model whose dynamics have exacerbated the desertification processes identified in the PAND. Despite its scientific value, the PAND lacked a proper action plan and was completely detached from the diagnosis. As a result, the diagnosis it provided was not followed by effective actions to halt desertification in Spain. The Spanish government's recent declaration of climate and environmental emergency requires a new strategy to combat desertification. This commitment is an excellent opportunity to update the diagnosis of the situation and, more crucially, to unify the different desertification sectoral policies and actions under a single front. We provide here elements (e.g., analysis of agri-food trends and integration of plans and policies at different geographical and sectoral levels) for a roadmap to be designed around the pressures, impacts, and drivers that define today's Spanish desertification landscapes to effectively manage and avoid their further degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]